One could merely see this seven year old boy learning fighting, hitting, hurting skills... OR one could see this seven year old boy exercising his inborn creativity as he learns to protect and defend those dear to him.

His armour is built out of balloons, construction paper, cardboard and duct tape (copious amounts of it actually). He gathers weapons and defends the weak and attacks the bad guys who want to hurt and maim the good guys. He tries sweet talking the bad guys, but if they persist he will attack. :)

He has fun.

He doesn't hit to hurt, he hits to stop and scare them away. :)

He's a good lad, growing up to be a man who will protect and defend his family in a variety of manners. And it is SO cool to watch him grow. :)

When I was done reading it though I thought to myself...isn't how she handles her son the way that people should handle their children?

Teach them slowly what is appropriate, help them to make good choices and see what they can handle?

Yes, for some children you need to be more deliberate about it, but at the same token it's what we all need to do with our children is it not? Give them options, help them make deliberate, small choices so that over time they can make other choices.

On a different note....I tested my lad's ability to find numbers this morning. I've done this off and on throughout his education. I asked him to find the hymn numbers for me this morning, and he found them all without assistance. It was very cool. No having to show him bigger/smaller, no hints of back up, or keep looking. He even figured out that flipping through the book can help you find the number quicker than paging through it one by one.